Mindfulness Based Coaching, Supervision & Facilitation
Welcome to INTROSPECT, where together we explore new mindfulness and coaching tools to support presence and transformative insight, one breath at a time.
The various interventions offered, support your nervous system to stay in an optimal state of ease and coherence. This in turn, supports your mental and emotional well-being.
An invitation to pay attention in this moment:
Pause for a moment.
Perhaps you can begin noticing, without judgement, where your attention is right now? Is your mind busy or at ease? How is the body feeling? What emotions are present?
We spend so much time in our thinking mind. We are constantly busy and in doing mode. When you stop, and pay attention, you begin to train this muscle of mindfulness.
I invite you to make a deliberate choice and decision about where you want your mind and attention to be moment by moment.
Perhaps your intention in this moment, is to begin exploring new possibilities and ways of being in your life.
At the heart of any mindfulness based intervention, is an openness to explore new perspectives and possibilities in our way of "being".
Mindfulness emphasizes the importance of wholeness and well-being. It aims to assist and support you to remain in the present moment and from this new vantage point, deal with whatever is arising, more effectively, kindly and skillfully. This approach fosters radical self-directed transformation, by initiating insightinto your direct experience, as it unfolds. Mindfulness Based Programmes are best viewed as educational and invitational, rather than clinical interventions. They are not motivated to remove what is unwanted in your experience, but instead, they create an environment to encourage you to open up to all that you are, in the present moment, no matter what that is.
MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction), aims to create a structured, compassionate eight week pathway, to relieve suffering and increase well-being. It is encouraged for people facing a host of challenges arising from a wide range of medical and psychological conditions and the demands and stressors inherent in our everyday lives as human beings. (MBSR Authorised Curriculum Guide: 2017)
This multi-faceted and evidence-based approach, in the Jon Kabat-Zinn lineage, has three distinct characteristics:
It is secular: This means it is not connected to any religion. It simply explores our innate human capacity of awareness, which is available to all.
It is non-pathologizing: The essence of the practice allows for conditions to arise, where the mind and the body can return to integration and wholeness. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says "as long as you are breathing , there is more right with you than there is wrong, no matter how ill or how hopeless you feel".
It is transformational:With enough commitment and willingness to practice, sustainable change and transformation become possible.
Trauma Informed Mindfulness: After experiencing a difficult retreat in April 2019, I have been made increasingly aware of the need to deepen my understanding of the potential adverse effects of mindfulness practice for people struggling with a current crisis or past trauma. I now include suggestions offered in the "The First do no Harm" training, which offers Foundational Competencies for working skillfully with meditation related challenges in my work and approach. The three thought leaders involved in this approach are; Willoughby Britton Ph.D; Jared Lindahl Ph.D; David A. Treleaven Ph.D. David's book, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for safe and transformative healing, offers an accessible, clear direction for being trauma informed as a teacher of mindfulness programmes.
INNOVATIVE STRESS AND BURNOUT SOLUTIONS:
“ I never imagined I would find myself supporting individuals to grow their innate capacity to be present. I came to MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) in my early 30’s, at a time in my life when I felt very broken and overwhelmed. Mindfulness offered me insight into my vulnerability at the time. It opened my heart and allowed me to glimpse a possibility that there is another way to live. I was addicted to doing andseeking solutions outside of myself. I never knew that by simply “being”, I could find peace from my constant busy ruminative mind and compulsive behaviors. I am also aware that for some, the practice needs adjustment. Those that struggle with any form of past trauma or current crisis, need to be cautious and held with deep care. To that end, I continue to work in understanding trauma-informed mindfulness. I am aware of the responsibility and ethics required when working with clients." Mandy Johnson
